HEIMLICH TRAINING URGED FOR RESTAURANTS

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Prompted by a diner who was saved from choking by the Heimlich maneuver, Ald. Robert Shaw (9th) said Wednesday that he will introduce an ordinance requiring all restaurants to have an employee on duty trained in the lifesaving technique. Shaw`s ordinance, to be brought to the Chicago City Council and assigned to a committee at Thursday`s meeting, also would require the employee to be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. ''We`re talking about saving a life here,'' Shaw said. ''And there wouldn`t be a cost. The Board of Health should provide this training free.'' Andy Kelly, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said most of the member restaurants approve of the maneuver, which can remove items stuck in a choking victim`s throat, but he said the restaurants do not formally endorse it because it could open them up to legal liabilities.